Leave Out All The Rest
by theDoctorlies
Summary: Sasuke thinks back to his meeting with Naruto in the clearing. Companion piece to ‘Echo’ COMPLETE


Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. The song 'Leave Out All The Rest' belongs to Linkin Park. I make no money from writing this.

Summary: Sasuke thinks back to his meeting with Naruto in the clearing. Companion piece to 'Echo'

A/N: Well, this is a companion piece to a little song-fic I wrote called 'Echo', It takes place after their meeting, and it's just Sasuke reflecting on it. Enjoy.

MUSE: YAY ANOTHER STORY!! IT'S BEEN FOREVER!! I MISSED YOU THIS SUMMER AND AM GLAD TO BE BACK!! I LOVE YOU!!

* * *

Walking away from that clearing with Naruto's voice still ringing in his ears, and the idiot's smell on his clothes, Sasuke knew that he would never feel the same again. He'd almost expected it when Sakura came charging into his room, after Sai had rudely woken him up. He wasn't surprised, either, when Naruto came charging in seconds later, completely stunned into silence. The blonde was different than Sasuke, remembered. More quiet, maybe. But then, he figured, Naruto probably didn't know what to say. After two and a half years of training, they finally ran into each other. Sasuke wouldn't have been surprised if Naruto were still bent on bringing him back.

After a moment of simply gazing at his teammates, Sasuke had jumped down from his spot on top of what used to be his room, and went straight for Naruto. His intent had been to impale him through and through with this Kusanagi, but as soon as his arm touched the moron's shoulder, everything went quiet. And not the normal quiet. There were still noises around them, but Sasuke's ears had focused solely on the soft breaths against his throat.

_I dreamed I was missing_

_You were so scared_

_But no one would listen_

_'Cause no one else cared_

It was all so clear to him then; this was Naruto, his best friend, rival, and teammate. He hadn't given up the chase no matter how futile everything seemed to be. He was still the biggest idiot Sasuke had ever known.

"If you have the time to come chase after me, shouldn't you be training to become Hokage?"

_After my dreaming_

_I woke with this fear_

_What am I leaving_

_When I'm done here_

_So if you're asking me I want you to know_

He'd said what he needed, tried to get Naruto to realize his mistake. And it was all true. He was a lost case; Naruto shouldn't have been wasting everyone's time by chasing him. He had dreams to become Hokage, and those dreams were useless if you were dead. Then Naruto had touched his elbow, spoke softer than he ever had heard the moron speak, and it was suddenly very important that Sasuke get away from him. He knew he was saying something to the blonde, but he was pulling his sword out before he could think, hoping Naruto dodged before any blood could be shed. He had no such luck, though, as the sword came sailing though the air towards his back.

Sai caught it just in time, his back pressed against Naruto's, both hands stopping Sasuke from moving any further, The brunette was almost thankful as the idiot ninja gave him a smirk that spoke volumes.

_When my time comes_

_Forget the wrong that I've done_

_Help me leave behind some_

_Reasons to be missed_

It didn't take a skilled ninja to know that the new member of Team 7 was snaking up on him. Without turning, without relinquishing his hold on Naruto, Sasuke made a few hand signs with the hand on the blonde's shoulder, shocking those around him with his Chidori Nagashi. Naruto and Sai were both stunned by the attack, but this new guy seemed intent on attacking him. He used another Chidori Nagashi, but sent it through his sword this time, piercing the man's chest with the very tip, frying the cells around the wound so the man wouldn't bleed to death. No one needed to die over this.

Sasuke turned back around, facing the stunned blonde still on the ground. He palmed the boy in the forehead, activating his Sharingan and feeling his mind getting sucked into Naruto's. He ended up in a corridor with wet floors, and he could hear the blonde's voice bouncing off of the walls, obviously yelling at something. Sasuke followed his voce, coming to a large room with a cage towards the back, in which the blonde was standing in front of.

Two huge, red eyes peered at him from behind the steel bars.

_Don't resent me_

_And when you're feeling empty_

_Keep me in your memory_

_Leave out all the rest_

_Leave out all the rest_

"What are you doing here?!" Naruto yelled, clenching his fists at his sides. Sasuke ignored him and put his hand up to the large cage, knowing who it was that lay behind it, trapped in the body of a sixteen-year-old moron. The brunette turned back towards the infuriated blonde, gently touched his forehead, and watched as azure eyes slowly closed. Sasuke turned back towards the large demon behind the bars, assessing its appearance with a critical eye.

"You're Kyuubi, aren't you?" Sasuke asked the sinister demon behind the sealed bars. The demon swirled its nine tails, regarding the Uchiha with angry, red eyes. He'd seen those eyes so many times where Naruto's blue ones should've been.

"And you must be an Uchiha, to see me inside of the brat's head." The demon fox chuckled, the sinister sounds making goosebumps erupt on Sasuke's arms. He narrowed his eyes as the large beast showed him a mouth full of sharp, pearly teeth.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted, flashing the demon a view of his Sharingan before disappearing, leaving Naruto's unconscious spirit from slumped on the floor.

_Don't be afraid_

_I've taken my beating_

_I've shared what I made_

Sasuke came back to consciousness with four pairs of eyes trained on him: three angry and one a mix of confusion and daze. The brunette felt movement next to him, and found that Orochimaru and Kabuto had finally joined him. That meant it was time to go, and he didn't have another chance to throw Naruto off of this stupid, self-sacrificing mission.

He watched the blonde for a second before jumping away from the rubble that was his room, and then all he could see were trees passing by him in a flash. In his head, he could see his once best friend falling to his knees; hands clutching at his face as tears cascaded down his cheeks. He could hear Naruto's sobs in his ears, and felt a part of him-the part that was still human-reach out to the blonde. There was nothing he could do so far away from everyone else, with Orochimaru breathing down his neck and Itachi still lurking in the shadows somewhere outside of where he was. Naruto's pain was insignificant in the eyes of his vengeance.

_I'm strong on the surface_

_Not all the way through_

_I've never been perfect_

_But neither have you_

_So if you're asking me I want you to know_

Sasuke broke away from Orochimaru and Kabuto, after convincing the snake master that he would be back the next day, with more information on the Akatsuki. He found himself back at their destroyed hideout, the Konoha shinobi long gone, but the feelings of their meeting still lingering in the air. Now that he knew what resided in the depths of the blonde's body, sealed forever in darkness, he understood why his bastard of a brother wanted him so bad. He understood why Naruto had been so much stronger than himself when they were kids; before Orochimaru had bestowed the curse mark upon him.

He still remembered that fateful day, when Naruto finally caught up with him at the Valley of the End. He could hear himself telling the blonde about finally waking up, and that getting stronger was impossible if he kept playing ninja with the Konoha shinobi. He said every mean thing he could, but Naruto wasn't giving up. That much was clear. And so they fought. They fought with every thing they had, until Naruto resorted to using the power Sasuke now knew was from Kyuubi. It had ended with Naruto on the ground-alive, but unconscious-and Sasuke wondering if killing the boy for the Mangekyou was even worth it. Killing someone the way Itachi had, even for the same reason, hadn't been his goal in the beginning.

He didn't want to take the same paths as his bastard of a brother.

_When my time comes_

_Forget the wrong that I've done_

_Help me leave behind some_

_Reasons to be missed_

He'd known memories were nostalgic ever since he was nine, and he spent a number of days in the hospital thinking about his family. Everyone was dead, thanks to his murdering traitor of a brother. He didn't know what to do now. He was all alone in the world. Then Naruto came along, as well as his other "friends", and things weren't so lonely anymore. But depending on them made him weak-physically and mentally. Orochimaru had made sure that his eyes were fully open. That alone would help him defeat the snake bastard in the future, as well as his murdering traitor of a brother.

Sasuke looked up the sky, watching as the clouds sifted through the sky, oblivious to the tumult of thoughts drifting through his head. Unbidden, memories of his mother came to the forefronts of his mind.

_Don't resent me_

_And when you're feeling empty_

_Keep me in your memory_

_Leave out all the rest_

_Leave out all the rest_

"_Mother, why do clouds just float in the sky?" A three year old Sasuke questioned, his dark eyes gazing at the fluffy whiteness high in the deep, blue sky. Mikoto giggled as she squeezed his hand, also looking up at the clouds._

"_Well, the clouds live in the sky, Sasuke." She told the little boy, looking down and giving her son a warm smile. The small brunette seemed to take his mother's answer in stride before his curiosity got the better of him._

"_But what do they do all day? Just float?" Sasuke shuffled his feet against the cobblestones of their front walkway and wrinkled his forehead in confusion. His father always told him not to become a lazy boy, and yet, he wanted to be one of the clouds floating in the sky. They had nothing to worry about, just sitting there innocently. He didn't understand._

"_Well, they sometimes bring rain, remember? So they're not just floating around." Mikoto tightened her hold on Sasuke's hand before pulling him gently towards the house, the little boy's eyes still locked on the clouds._

_Forgetting_

_All the hurt inside you learned to hide so well_

_Pretending_

_Someone else can come and save me from myself_

_I can't be who you are_

Sasuke shook his head, snapping himself out of the painful memories of his dead parents. He was a naïve child, to think he wanted to be a cloud just floating in empty, blue sky. He'd rather be on the ground, fighting to make himself stronger, fighting to make Itachi pay for what he'd done. He wanted Naruto to keep chasing him…

"_You're coming back to Konoha with me, even if I have to break every bone in your body!"_

"_See this hitai-ate? I bet you can't even put a scratch on it."_

"_SASUKE!"_

A soft wind rustled Sasuke's hair as he finally turned away from the debris that used to be his room, and started his trek to the meeting point where he would meet Orochimaru.

He'd finally had enough remembering.

_When my time comes_

_Forget the wrong that I've done_

_Help me leave behind some_

_Reasons to be missed_

_Don't resent me_

_And when you're feeling empty_

_Keep me in your memory_

_Leave out all the rest_

_Leave out all the rest_

_Forgetting_

_All the hurt inside you learned to hide so well_

_Pretending_

_Someone else can come and save me from myself_

_I can't be who you are_

_I can't be who you are_

_Owari_


End file.
